Everlasting
by Gasian Gaond
Summary: After Noise's defeat, there was not much need for the Suite Precures to keep fighting any longer, apart from the occasional calls from their fellow Cures. However, unbeknown to them, a sinister being was silently waiting beneath that false sense of security.
1. Chapter 1

Summary: After Noise's defeat, there was not much need for the Suite Precures to keep fighting any longer, apart from the occasional calls from their fellow Cures. However, unbeknown to them, a sinister being was silently waiting beneath that false sense of security.

A/N: A Suite Precure fanfiction! Whoot!

This story takes place after the events in Suite Precure, and also, it will contain Hibiki x Kanade yuri pairing!

Enjoy!

* * *

**Everlasting**

Chapter 1

"Liszt's Reminiscences de Don Juan, S. 418."

"...You must be kidding."

The bespectacled woman crossed her arms and threw a disapproving look at the teenage girl in front of her. The girl did nothing but return her glare with an adamant, calm expression.

"As the daughter of Dan Houjou, I believe you have understood how...radical your choice is for your current abilities," the woman explained coldly, "You might as well walk to the judges, tell them you quit or simply commit suicide in front of them."

"Honda-sensei, I've decided on this piece," the brunette insisted, "I want to play it. In front of the judges. I'm serious about this."

Hibiki knew from those icy black eyes that Honda-sensei didn't believe her one bit.

"I'm absolutely disappointed in you. Just because you have talent, that is not an excuse to overestimate your skills," she said loudly, "I have better things to do than lecture you about your recklessness and why your efforts will, without doubt, produce diminishing returns. You're currently under my care just because Houjou-san asked me to become his substitute. He wants you to win this competition, not throw your chances off a cliff with such an extreme piece."

This time Hibiki didn't even dare to look back. She only stared at the black and white piano keys, waiting for Honda-sensei to finish talking. After a few painful minutes, she paused and Hibiki held her breath. However, when she continued, her voice was much softer than before.

"...I know you inherit your mother and father's talent, and music is something that you tremendously enjoy. I can see it from how you play."

Hibiki glanced hesitantly at her.

"There are some ways that the music you play can reveal hidden depths about yourself. I have seen you play a lot before, Houjou. Your father showed me the videos of your concerts or recitals sometimes. Even when you play a cheerful and lively piece, he said there is always something in the way you play. A lonely feeling. Something that you can't get rid of. You were a kid back then, so it clearly showed."

Hibiki looked at her in surprise. She never knew her father could notice that from the way she played.

"Well... how do you think I am now...?" she asked with a small voice.

Honda-sensei looked at her with her eyebrows raised.

"A blatantly huge amount of doubts..." she answered, "...which didn't exist when you were much younger. But I don't know you that well. Are you worrying about something?"

Hibiki gave her a blank look.

"Uh, really? I think I played normally..."

"You still have a lot to learn, Houjou," she interrupted with a sigh.

* * *

"Wow, that old woman sure gave you a hard time," Ellen said as they walked around another corner, a small white cat resting comfortably in her arms.

Hibiki stared at her in surprise. "You heard her?" she asked, "The room is supposed to be soundproof."

"My ears are a bit better than yours. And I didn't hear everything. I came right when she said something about the destructive effects of your personality," she said with a chuckle.

"Yeah, right. Without my personality Howling and Noise would plant flowers in Major Land."

Ellen and Hummy laughed heartily. "It sure is peaceful around here," Hibiki said, putting her arms behind her head.

Ellen grinned. "Don't jinx it. The devil might make work for idle hands."

"Where did you hear that from?" Hibiki responded.

"From a crime TV series."

It had been two years since their final fight with Noise, and Hibiki was now a freshman in the same high school as Kanade and Ellen. However, she still could not forget every second of the fight. She was sure she would remember that intense moment of her life to her dying day, but for the citizens of Kanon, nothing much had changed from their life or their beloved town. Peaceful music filled the air, musicians carried their instruments along the towns' streets, and pleasant smell of freshly baked bread came out of the windows of the various bakeries in town. It should have been paradise for the Suite Precures, the four girls who saved Kanon Town from Noise's clutches.

"I'm hungry, nya!" Hummy said, looking up at Ellen.

"Should we detour to Lucky Spoon?" Ellen suggested.

Hibiki stopped dead on her tracks. "Are you guys going to Lucky Spoon?"

"Yeah, Hibiki, let's go, nya!" Hummy said excitedly.

"I think I'll pass," she replied with a diffident smile, "Tell Souta I'll be waiting for him tomorrow at the usual place."

Ellen let out a sigh.

Here we go again.

"You know, maybe it's time for you to stop being such a wimp and go face Kanade already."

"...Come on, Ellen, I still need more time."

"Hibiki, if you keep digging in your heels..."

"No, please, believe me. It's not like I hate Kanade or..."

"Anyone would notice something is wrong from the way you keep evading her."

"Just...give me a break, okay?"

"This time I won't let you...Hibiki!"

Before Ellen could say anything else, Hibiki had walked back around the corner and vanished from sight.

"Geez...what's with her?" Ellen said, scratching her head.

Ever since Hibiki asked Hummy to live with Ellen a few weeks ago, she began acting strange in front of her friends. However, Hummy didn't look concerned in the slightest.

"It's not the first time this happened, nya," Hummy said knowingly, "I'm sure it'll turn out just fine, nya."

"Really?" Ellen said, unconvinced, "But back then she could make up with Kanade quite quickly, right?"

"Back then Kanade came to Hibiki's house and Hibiki finally confessed what was wrong, nya," she said, smiling up at Ellen.

"Hmm..."

It seemed that she would need to know what Kanade had to say in this, then.

* * *

"Hibiki? She said she has a competition coming soon, so she told me not to bother her since she needs to concentrate on her piano practice," Kanade said while washing her hands. She wiped them and turned to Ellen with a curious look on her face. "What's wrong with her?"

"Don't you think something is...off?" Ellen asked.

Kanade turned back to the sink and picked up some dirty spoons.

"Well, aside from how she keeps throwing nervous glances at me, and how I haven't seen her for weeks outside of class, and how she hasn't texted me at all for the last ten days if I remember it right... no."

Ellen mumbled to the white cat on the table, "Hummy... Kanade looks pretty angry."

"What should we do, nya?" Hummy said, munching on her cupcake.

"Um, Kanade, have you tried talking to Hibiki?" she asked softly.

"I have, countless times, but she keeps scurrying away when I do," she said flatly.

Ellen couldn't help but notice the subtly dejected look on her face. Time and time again, Hibiki and Kanade resolved their disagreements and remained best friends, although from an outsider's point of view, it was a bit of a miracle they didn't hit each other on the nose every time they fought. However, Ellen was no longer an outsider. She knew that Hibiki and Kanade cared about each other deeper than what they showed in the surface, so she could tell that Kanade's anger wasn't serious. She completely understood this when Kanade suddenly cancelled her decision to attend a baking and pastry school after Hibiki said that she wouldn't be going to a music school soon.

"Well, she must have a reason..." Ellen said, "And this is Hibiki we're talking about. There's no way she can hate you."

Kanade silently glanced at her.

At the very least, Ellen and Kanade understood that Hibiki didn't want to simply be called a dilettante artist. She was clearly aiming to become a professional musician like her mother.

"Come on, Kanade, she might be concentrating so much on her competition that she starts acting a bit weird," Ellen said, thinking that she should apologize to Hibiki later, "This competition is very important for her, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is. This competition might decide her future," she said, "One of the judges is the headmaster of a prestigious international college of music..."

"There! We should all support her, right? We shouldn't add up to her problem. Hibiki's been pretty tense these past few days," Ellen said without thinking. If she couldn't coax Hibiki to tell her what her problem really was, then the least she could do was to cheer up Kanade.

"Yeah... you're right, Ellen," Kanade said, flashing the first sincere smile Ellen had seen from her that day, "...We have to support Hibiki so she can truly pursue her dream!"

"That's the spirit, Kanade-san!" Ellen said, giving her a thumbs-up.

"Okay, everyone, let's make some cupcakes for Hibiki!" she exclaimed.

"Yosh, let's do it!" Ellen said excitedly.

"Let's do it, nya!" Hummy piped in.

"Let's go everyone, I'll show you my spirited recipe!"

* * *

"And...? The reason you come to see me is...?"

"Well...perhaps you can help us..."

"Denied. Hibiki's problem is her own problem and you shouldn't..."

"She's been acting pretty weird nowadays! Don't you notice anything at all?"

"Unfortunately, I don't cross paths with her that often, so no."

"That's exactly the reason I ask you! There's definitely something that Hibiki's been hiding from us, but maybe she will open up more to you..."

"And why exactly do you think I am an exception in this case?"

"Please, Ako, just this once!" Kanade begged, "Hibiki won't tell us anything no matter how many times we ask!"

While making cupcakes, Ellen saw Souta walk by and she got an idea. Hibiki might not speak to either of them, but she might slip up and tell Souta. Lately, Hibiki and Souta had been hanging out a lot because she was helping him to make it into the Aria Academy soccer team. However, they couldn't get anything out from him, so Kanade and Ellen turned to the next person who might know and headed to Ako's house.

Ako was now a student of Aria Academy, and she began avoiding Hibiki and the others after Hibiki made a comment about how she looked in her new uniform. She said she took a dim view of her remarks, but Ellen knew she was just being shy about it.

"Who's the youngest among the four of us, I wonder..." Ako said, shaking her head slowly, "Alright, I'll tell you, but after this I don't want to have anything more to do with Hibiki and her problems."

"Wait, what? Tell us what?" Ellen asked cautiously.

Ako rolled her eyes. "A few weeks ago, I accompanied Souta to Hibiki's house. He wanted to ask her to tutor him so he can join the soccer team. At that time we found out that..."

"Wh-what happened, nya...?" Hummy asked with a worried look.

"That she's currently living alone in that mansion," Ako explained, "Her father has gone off somewhere and there's nobody else. Hibiki told us to keep it a secret, because..."

Ako, Ellen, and Hummy threw a quick glance at Kanade.

"...Well, because right at this moment you're thinking of going straight to Hibiki's house after this, right, Kanade?"

* * *

"You have a lot of explanation to do, Hibiki."

"Kanade... can you please let go of my hand now?"

"Why was I dragged here again?"

That same night, Hibiki opened her door to find her three fellow Precures standing there, one of them folding her arms impatiently, the other two looked as if they had no idea how they suddenly got there.

"I never know this at all. I always thought your dad was busy when I didn't see him around. And yet you never say anything to us. How could you, Hibiki?"

Ellen sighed and prepared for the worst. Where did Rhythm's dignified persona go when you needed her...?

Hibiki stared at them in confusion before turning to Ako. "Ako, you must be the one who got me into this..." she said through gritted teeth.

Ako's eyebrows rose at the accusation. "Since when were you in a position to dictate terms?"

"Listen, Kanade, I..." she began, obviously searching for the right words to say, "My dad is away to my mom's place right now. They're putting up a concert together around Europe. The preparations and the event will take at least one year."

"One year?"Ellen repeated, "You're gonna be here alone for a whole year?"

"Is that why you asked me to live with Seiren, nya?" Hummy said, her ears drooping.

"No, Hummy, I just think you'd be better off living with Ellen at the moment. And everything's going fine, Ellen, so..."

"There's no way you are fine!" Kanade interrupted, "You have to do everything by yourself. What about your studies, your competition? You can't concentrate on them if you're living like this. And how could you just accept things like that? Didn't it ever cross your mind that it's dangerous to live alone in a house like this?"

Now that she thought about it, this house was pretty big for a girl to live alone in, and the location didn't help either. Ellen was dimly aware of the sound of a car in a distance.

It was obvious that Hibiki wanted nothing more than to escape from that place right then and there.

"...This area is not as dangerous as you think. There are a lot of people around, and the children next door were just making an awful din this morning. As I said, guys, I'm completely..."

"But, Hibiki..."

"No, Hibiki, you're not fine," Kanade said, "You're not... I know you better than anyone else..."

Ellen and Ako glanced at each other. Ellen knew they were both thinking about whether they should leave the two of them now or not.

"...You're feeling lonely, aren't you?"

Hibiki couldn't say anything.

Everyone there knew Hibiki was terrible at lying.

One glance to her clear blue eyes and the dimly lit room behind her and Kanade knew she was right.

"...Alright, I've decided," Kanade said after a moment of silence, "I'll live here with you."

"You what? !" they blurted out.

Even Ako looked surprised. "Are you sure?"

"I can't just leave you alone here, Hibiki. I'm going to live with you," she said quietly.

"Wait, no, you don't understand," Hibiki quickly said.

"What, Hibiki, is there any reason for you to differ?" Ako asked with a smirk, "Do you keep a diary or something?"

Hibiki smiled weakly. "No, guys, I can take care of myself just fine."

Kanade put her hands on her hips. "Hibiki, you're always acting tough in times like these."

"But I'm..." Hibiki said. Her eyes darted toward Ellen, Ako, and Hummy, clearly begging for help.

"Why not, nya?" Hummy asked her with her usual directness, "It'll be fun, nya!"

Hibiki stared at her while for a while, before she finally gave up and said yes. Ako sneered as Kanade rejoiced and gave Hibiki a big hug, but Ellen still felt a slight uneasiness in her heart.

Would everything really go well after this...?

* * *

A/N: How do you think? Please R&R!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Hey everyone, Gasian here! The slice of life theme will go on for a bit before shit starts get real, in the meantime, I hope you like the current yuri fluffiness (although I'm not sure if there's enough of it, I mean, we can never have enough Hibikana yuri).

Also, in this story, Souta still calls Kanade "Onee-chan". I thought it might take some time for him in middle school to change to "Onee-san", but I apologize if this makes him sound strange.

Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 2

Overwhelmed with her newfound emotions, Kanade began packing as soon as she got home, not paying much attention to her surroundings until she bumped into Souta when she was rushing to the bathroom to get her towel.

"Nee-chan! What the heck are you doing? ?" Souta said, rubbing his nose.

"Souta...! Isn't it obvious? I'm packing!" Kanade said frantically.

Souta's jaw dropped. "What? ! You're running away from home? !"

"No...! I'm going to Hibiki's."

Souta still looked surprised. "To Hibiki-nee-chan's?"

"Yes! Don't you know that..." she broke off. She turned around and noticed that Souta was silently rushing away from her like a ninja.

"SOUTA! !"

"Wah, I'm really, really sorry...!"

"You lied to me!"

"I'm sorry! Hibiki-nee-chan told me to!"

"You even lied to Ellen!"

"S-sorry! Did I make her angry?"

"No. But I still can't believe you hid such an important thing."

"I didn't know that it is..." Souta said nervously, "Hibiki-nee-chan seems happy and all. Is she in trouble? Then why is she hiding it?"

"I don't know, but I will find out," Kanade said as she stomped away.

"But Nee-chan," Souta said, giving her a confused look, "Have you talked with Mom and Dad about this?"

Kanade froze and suddenly started walking back toward him.

"You haven't! ?"

"I was so busy packing that I..."

"Gee, Nee-chan, you talk big but you're just the same as Hibi-"

"Don't you _dare_ finish that sentence! !"

* * *

"That sure is...quick."

A little before midnight, Kanade had arrived back at Hibiki's house, complete with her travel bags and belongings.

"How the heck did you do that...?" she said in disbelief.

Kanade kicked off her shoes and said, "It's because I'm really worried about you!"

Hibiki noticed that she was still angry. "...What about your parents?"

"Let me guess, your dad told you to tell my parents that he would be away, but you forgot," Kanade said with a tone of disapproval, "They just need me to help out from time to time."

Hibiki sighed and grabbed her arm. "Listen, I'm sorry," she said, "But you can't live here, Kanade. You just can't."

Kanade was about to yell again, but when she looked at Hibiki's weary face, she held back and said, "But why?"

"It's nothing of your..."

"Well then answer me one thing..." Kanade said bitterly.

She had been thinking about this possibility for days on end.

It had been stuck in her mind for so long that she had forgotten when the thought first crossed her mind.

"...Is it because you just got a boyfriend?"

Hibiki stared at her in complete shock.

"Where did you get that conclusion from! ?"

"It's obvious! You hardly hang out with us again, you seem busy all the time, and you won't let me live in your house! You must spend tons of time here with your boyfriend, kissing, making out..."

"No, wait, I..."

"That is why you don't want me in your house. I'll just be a burden. You're under a lot of stress now and you obviously need your boyfriend to-"

"Stop, stop, stoooop, " Hibiki said, putting her hands on Kanade's shoulders, "That's enough."

Kanade turned her face away from her and said, "Is it true...?"

Hibiki was amazed when she found out that Kanade seemed like she was in the verge of tears.

"Silly..." she said with a grin, "Of course not."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"You're really sure?"

"How am I not sure? ?"

"Ako almost died laughing when I told her."

"Damn, she made it sound like it's impossible for me to get a boyfriend!"

"You do have one...?"

"I don't!"

"That still doesn't explain why you've been evading us, though."

"Here's one thing," Hibiki said in an irritated tone, "You can live here, as long as you stop asking me about that thing."

"But...!" Kanade said, but Hibiki shook her head and picked Kanade's white travel bag up from the floor.

"What are you doing, Hibiki?" she asked as her best friend swung her bag around easily.

"Right now, I'm holding your stuff hostage," she said, gesturing at the bag, "I can put this inside the house. Orrr anywhere outside."

Kanade immediately grabbed Hibiki's arm.

"Give that back!"

"Whoa, your moves have gotten better, Kanade-san!" Hibiki said, breaking free of her grab with a quick downward motion that Kanade was sure she learned from some sort of martial arts lesson. She proceeded to run upstairs.

"Hibiki...!" Kanade exclaimed, "You stupid, awful..." The last thing she wanted to do at that time was playing chase with her.

Only after Hibiki reached the second floor did she look back at Kanade and said, "What? You're not gonna follow me?"

Kanade glared at her. "Why should I...? If you don't want me in the house, just send me away alread-"

"Just come here already," Hibiki interrupted, "You'll sleep in my room."

They looked at each other for a few seconds.

"I sleep in your...does that mean I can stay here?" Kanade said hesitantly.

"Most of the time I'm going to be away from home though," Hibiki replied.

"Having a date with your-"

"For the last time, _I don't have a boyfriend_!"

* * *

When Kanade went into Hibiki's room, she was greeted with a familiar sight. The room was still the same as it was back then; the round table, the bed, pink curtain and carpet, and even the smell was the same. Everything was neat and freshly cleaned. If there was one thing most people who didn't know Hibiki too well would wrongly assume about her, it was that she couldn't keep her room tidy enough. However, Kanade knew Hibiki grew up to be independent since her mother was rarely there for her. Hibiki was still reluctant to learn how to cook properly though.

"So you'll sleep here," Hibiki said, "And I'll sleep in my dad's room."

Kanade glanced at the bed.

"Um, I don't mean to..."

"It's fine, it's fine. Sleep here all you want," she said nonchalantly, "Dad's got bigger bed, although Mom hardly comes home."

Hibiki turned and headed toward the door. Kanade looked at the bed again and her eyes fell on the comfy pillow. A thought suddenly came to her.

"Hey," Kanade said, "Why don't we sleep together?"

Her reaction was unexpected. Kanade, for the first time ever in her life, saw the athletic Hibiki accidentally hit her head on the door frame.

"Hibiki!" Kanade quickly rushed to her and examined her forehead.

Hibiki cursed loudly and said, "I'm fine... ow! Don't touch there!"

"How could you be so careless?" Kanade said, lightly patting her head.

"I'm just tired, and you surprised me!"

"I did? What the heck is your problem?"

"We can't sleep on that bed," Hibiki groaned.

"Why not?" Kanade asked, eyeing her best friend curiously, "We used to sleep on it all the time back then."

Kanade couldn't help but notice how Hibiki's eyes hadn't met hers even once that whole evening.

"We did, but it's too small for us now," Hibiki said.

Kanade raised her eyebrows and sat on the bed. "It'll fit."

"No, you sleep here and I sleep there," Hibiki disapproved.

Why was she so stubborn? The more Kanade thought about what actually happened with her friend, the more she got confused about it.

"Come on, Hibikiii," Kanade said, "You love it. We can talk about stuff all night like we used to. And pillow fight!"

"No. Kanade, we can do fun things later, but sleeping together is not one of them, okay?" she insisted.

"Then why don't you at least sleep here?" Kanade snapped.

"I still have other things to do," Hibiki said, not answering the question. She was still not looking at her.

That was it for Kanade. She swiftly walked toward the door and closed it before Hibiki had a chance to get out.

"Kanade, what..."

Kanade stood right in front of her and put her hands around Hibiki's cheeks, effectively preventing her from looking anywhere else.

"When you talk to me," Kanade said, "You have to look at me in the eye!"

This clearly took Hibiki by surprise. Kanade couldn't read her expression, but she knew her message was clearly sinking in.

"Hibiki?" she called out, "Do you get that?"

Hibiki continued to silently stare at her, as if she never looked at Kanade that close before.

"Oh...right," she finally said, "You have a pimple."

"Huh? Where?" Kanade said, touching her own face.

"Um, uh, I don't know. Just feel like saying that."

"What...?" Kanade looked at her in confusion.

"Anyway, I'll see you later, I'm gonna be late!"

"Wha, wait, Hibiki!"

But she was gone.

It took a few moments for Kanade to realize it was already past midnight.

What was she doing this late at night?

* * *

For the next few days, Kanade found out the hard way that Hibiki was really spending a lot of time doing something she didn't understand. No matter how much she waited for her to come home late at night, Hibiki never told her a thing. Three out of seven days she would directly go somewhere after school, then she would come home before dawn and pass out on the couch. She couldn't concentrate on school, but she never asked help from Kanade like she used to do. And all that time, Kanade could only look at her in pity. Living with her didn't help much.

That was why she spent a lot of time in the Melody House, thinking about a way to disengange them from this situation.

"It's amazing that she lasted this long," Ako said, "Hummy said she's usually open with you."

"She was..." Kanade said dejectedly, "Doesn't she know that we're all worried about her? Yesterday Nishijima-san even asked me what's wrong with her, and when I replied that I don't know, she wondered if we have grown distant..."

"This Nishijima is close to Hibiki, right?" Ako paused for a bit when she noticed that Kanade looked even sadder when she said it. "...And Hibiki won't tell her, either?"

Kanade sighed. She was getting fed up. "I want to...know," Kanade said, "Are we not friends anymore? Why would she do this to us? I don't get it... She's not usually this obsessed with a competition. Usually she becomes disenchanted quickly because of her laziness."

"Maybe she realized it's time to grow up and discipline herself," Ako said.

Kanade gazed into the distance. She remembered when she watched Hibiki perform in her first concert. She was shaking, she was nervous, but when she finished playing, she was greeted with a thunderous applause. Kanade still remembered how she just sat there at the piano until the applause died down, and the way she looked at the audience in a mixture of confusion and amazement. She couldn't stop rambling about it to Kanade after that, because her dad told her they were a discriminating audience. She used to enjoy and love concerts with her whole heart. What was it that made her push herself this much this time?

"I'm going to try..." Kanade said.

"What?" Ako asked, leaning against the wall.

"I'm going to try my own way," she said with a determined expression.

Ako raised an eyebrow, but she didn't ask what she meant.

* * *

That night, Kanade was having a hard time going to sleep. Her brain wouldn't stop working. How much Hibiki would open up to her was at Hibiki's discretion. She needed to find some way...any way...

Then she suddenly heard a voice.

She sat on her bed and looked around the room. A chill ran down her spine. She waited, but she didn't hear that voice again. Was she imagining it? She heard it quite clearly...but she didn't know where it came from.

She was pretty sure it sounded like a moan, but there was nobody in the room. Could it be that it came from outside...?

Ignoring her conflicted mind, she got off the bed, grabbed her phone and carefully went outside.

Kanade thought she would need some source of light since she didn't want to turn on the lamps just to make sure she wasn't dreaming, but she was mistaken. Some of the lamps downstairs were still on. She quickly checked the clock on her phone. It was half past one.

'Hibiki...' she thought, hurrying downstairs. Did something happen? Did someone break into the house?

Her feet just touched the floor when she heard the sound of piano. It was subtle, but she could recognize it. Someone, without a doubt, was playing a piano.

She breathed a huge sigh of relief. There was no way Hibiki, or a stranger who broke into the house, would play a piano like that if a home invasion was taking place. It was just Hibiki.

Shaking her head to get rid of the last bits of fear in her mind, she headed towards the piano room.

Hibiki was there, playing the piano with great intensity that Kanade had never seen before. Her fingers were vigorously moving back and forth on the piano keys and Kanade could only stand there, completely blown away by the waves of stunning emotions that overflowed from the powerful melody she played.

Kanade recognized this piece.

Reminiscences de Don Juan.

When they were younger, Hibiki's father brought them to watch a concert of an extremely talented foreign pianist. This was the piece that he played. Hibiki and Kanade sat there agape during the whole astounding performance.

"I thought you were going to sleep..." Hibiki whispered to her after the performance was over.

"That was amazing..." Kanade replied, "Can we ever play like that, I wonder...?"

Hibiki glanced at Kanade, whose eyes were still fixated at the piano on the stage.

"Do you like that piece?" Hibiki asked.

"Yes!" Kanade exclaimed.

They then asked Hibiki's father to lend the sheet music to them, but he laughed and told them that the piece was impossible for a grade schooler to master. Hibiki couldn't accept it at that time, and begged Dan to lend them the sheet. Whether she did it because she saw the gloomy look on Kanade's face when he first refused, Kanade would never know.

Kanade's thoughts were interrupted when Hibiki suddenly stopped playing. She looked at her friend in alarm, and realized that Hibiki was strangely bending down while sitting at her piano.

Something was wrong.

She hastily approached her and Hibiki noticed her presence for the first time.

"Kanade...?"

She was holding her right wrist with her left hand.

"What happened to you...?"

"Oh, it's just..." Hibiki said, flexing her wrist a few times, "...um...it hurts a little."

Kanade touched Hibiki's wrist and she flinched. "...Just a little?" Kanade said in a disapproving tone.

Hibiki stayed quiet, but she didn't pull away when Kanade tried to examine her injured hand.

"I'll go get some ice, wait here and don't play anything until I get back."

"Eh? But, Kanade..."

Kanade ignored her and came back to the room with a pack full of ice.

A few awkward seconds passed as Kanade gently put the ice pack on Hibiki's wrist.

The silence slowly became unbearable to Kanade. Hibiki was usually more talkative than this. For some reason, when Kanade glanced at her, she recognized that Hibiki looked much more relaxed than how she did these last couple of days. Kanade didn't really like to admit it, but she felt a bit happy. She was worried sick when she knew that Hibiki hardly had any rest.

"...That was Reminiscences de Don Juan..." Kanade huffed, "You do know what happened to Scriabin's hand while practicing that piece, right?"

"...Honda-sensei ever told me that Scriabin thought that piece was pretty...discursive," Hibiki said. She wasn't flinching anymore. "I'm sure she made that up."

"Honda-sensei treats you with disdain, and I can see why," Kanade said with a laugh.

Hibiki tilted her head. "Why? I thought she's disdainful of everyone."

"Geez, Hibiki, you're so careless. You hurt your hand although you know shouldn't be pushing yourself too hard. I can't imagine how you live without me doing your cooking and laundry and..."

"Hey, I'm not that bad," Hibiki said, "You don't have to make it sound like you'd make a good wife for me...ow! !"

"I'm sorry!"

"What was that for? ?"

"You surprised me!"

"Still, you don't have to literally smack my hand with an ice pack! !"

"You got surprised for no reason too earlier! And why wife? ?"

"That's right, I should've gone with mom! Because you're an annoying old hag!"

"You're so cruel! You have no idea how much I'm worried about you!"

"I never ask for your help!"

"Fine!" Kanade screamed, "Just go and practice all you want until your hands fall off!"

They both paused and breathed heavily. Kanade quickly turned back and made a beeline for the door. She could still argue with Hibiki, but if she kept on going, she seriously felt like she was going to cry. She didn't understand why; she knew that Hibiki was just exhausted, and that it was just a typical, childish fight. However, she felt like all her efforts to help her best friend were in vain.

"Kanade, wait," Hibiki called out of the blue.

Kanade stopped dead on her tracks, but she didn't look back. Her hand was shakily clutching the doorknob. "...What?"

"...Thanks," Hibiki said in a small voice.

When Kanade didn't reply, she added, "I do need you."

Kanade opened the door and said, "...Don't mention it."

As she walked back to her room and threw herself on the bed, she didn't realize that despite not having any further arguments with Hibiki, there were still tears in her eyes.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The sun just started to rise that day when Kanade arrived at her family's cupcake shop. She was very excited for today.

It was the anniversary of Lucky Spoon opening. They were selling everything at a discount, and the townspeople would surely crowd the shop. Kanade had invited all her friends to visit, including Ellen, Hummy, Ako, and Otokichi-san.

But Hibiki...

"...So...what did she say?" Ellen asked as she approached Kanade, who was putting some cupcakes on Ako's table.

"'I'm quite busy today', and that's a direct quote," Kanade said, disgruntled, "She didn't say anything else."

"And what did you say?" Ako asked, cocking her head to the side.

"I told her to at least consider my feelings and sugarcoat what she said," Kanade said, shrugging dismissively, "And that I won't forgive her until she buys me Smile Bakery's special blueberry cheesecake. It's a joke, of course, since she needs two hours to get to that bakery from this town."

"Don't let it dishearten you, Kanade," Ellen said meekly, "I'm sure it's just a temporary thing."

"I don't know, Ellen..." Kanade said, looking tired and dispirited.

"Isn't it a disgrace that you're giving up so easily?" Ako asked, taking a sip of her tea, "Or maybe Hibiki's the disgraceful one, since she won't pay attention to your efforts no matter what."

"Why does it sound like you're still angry at her for commenting on your new look?" Ellen asked.

"I'm not angry," Ako said.

"...You sure like dishing it out, although you really can't take it," Ellen said, sitting down next to her.

"You thought I'm better than that? Sorry to disillusion you," she snapped, "And why're we talking about me? We were just talking about Kanade and her attempt to disentangle herself from her painful relationship with a certain Hibiki Houjou."

"I did try," Kanade responded, taking a seat in front of Ako.

She thought she was trying her best to help Hibiki, but now she only became disillusioned. Hibiki looked more exhausted and disheveled every time she came home.

"Cheer up, Kanade, nya!" Hummy piped up, "You have to enjoy yourself today, nya! Look who's coming, nya!"

They glanced at the door as several girls started to squeal. Five handsome, charismatic young men just entered the shop. Three of them were carrying splendid violin cases, and one of them, whom Ellen and Kanade recognized as their former classmate, was carrying a cello case. They were all wearing navy blue gakuran.

The Musical Princes, as they were known in town, continued to frequently perform during events as their fan base kept on growing. Kanade had known them since they went to the same middle school, and they looked more mature over the years. The only one among them who wasn't carrying an instrument, Ouji, was their pianist and leader.

"Minamino-san, Kurokawa-san! Long time no see!" Ouji greeted.

"O-Ouji-sempai! I thought you're busy today," Kanade stammered.

"We're going to perform for the school foundation day after this," Hakushaku, the long-haired violinist, explained, "But we want to say thank you for your invitation and eat some cakes here before we perform. Can we sit here?"

"Of course!" Ellen said with a smile.

The Princes sat on their table and ordered some cupcakes. Kanade was so restless and excited that she accidentally kicked Ako's leg under the table, and when the blond leader chose to sit right beside her, she was obviously flying high.

"Next time...I sit beside you Kanade," Ako grumbled.

"Huh? Why?" Kanade asked without looking at Ako. She was completely captivated by Ouji.

"So, Minamino-san, how is it at Garion High?" he asked cheerfully.

"It's fun! It's fun!" Kanade responded.

"What a lie..." Ako whispered to Ellen.

"Kurokawa-san and Houjou-san go to Garion High too, right?" Ouji said, giving Ellen and Ako a quick glance, "And you are Otokichi-san's granddaughter, aren't you?"

"I'm Ako Shirabe, nice to meet you," Ako said politely without taking her eyes off her cake.

"Oh, right, I've seen you three hanging out together before," Ouji said as Ako nodded, "But where's Houjou-san...?"

Kanade and Ellen looked at each other grimly.

"She's busy," Ellen said.

"Really? I thought so. I expect no less from someone who can be tutored by Shino Honda even before she becomes a professional piano player," he said, eyeing them inquisitively, "...But that's such a shame."

"Eh? What is?" Kanade asked, and Ouji handed her a paper so she could look at it. It was an announcement of the annual town concert.

"We planned to hold the concert twice this year, one during Christmas, and this one..." he said, pointing at the date on the paper, "...will take place next month."

"Wow, why haven't I heard about this?" Ellen asked excitedly.

"I'm sorry, there's a problem when the posters were printed so they came out late," the spiky-haired guy, Baron told her.

"I was hoping that you all can perform in the concert," Ouji said in a sincere tone, "I was really looking forward to it, especially Houjou-san. She must be amazing."

"Really...? Ouji-sempai..."

Ouji looked really disappointed. Ellen was about to explain about Hibiki's situation, but Kanade abruptly said, "We will definitely perform...!"

Ellen looked at her, astonished. "But, Kanade..."

"I'll try to talk to Hibiki," Kanade said, leaning forward, "We won't disappoint you, Sempai."

Ouji's eyes lit up. "Is it really okay, Minamino-san?"

"Kanade, wait," Ellen muttered, grabbing Kanade's hand and pulling her aside, "Why do you agree to do this? Hibiki is..."

"I don't want to make Ouji-sempai sad..." Kanade whispered back, "I'll think of something."

"Thank you so much, Minamino-san!" Ouji said, beaming the bright look on his face toward Kanade.

"You're welcome, Ouji-sempai! !" Kanade chirped gleefully. Ellen and Ako stared at her.

"She's on cloud nine..."

"This is hopeless."

* * *

The euphoria that Kanade felt after Ouji's visit lasted for quite a while, but it was gradually depleted and by the time the store closed, she was feeling miserable again. What should she do to make Hibiki agree to perform? Would being nicer to her work? They did fight time and again when they lived together. Maybe if she held back a little, and started less fights, Hibiki would say yes to her request...

But would Hibiki really do it...?

She didn't come to Lucky Spoon although everyone else whom Kanade invited did. The Musical Princes, Seika-sempai, Otokichi-san, and even Waon came.

'I'm quite busy today' was all she said.

She understood what Hibiki was going through... but she felt a painful stab in her mind every time she remembered how they used to have a lot of fun together.

Hibiki was one of the most sympathetic girls she knew. When the Cures thought Noise was merely an enemy that had to be eliminated, she was the first among them who decided that simply overpowering him wasn't the right answer. Hibiki had disappointed her many times, but Kanade was sure that Hibiki was not deliberately hurting her.

But she missed her.

She missed all the time she spent with her best friend.

However, now Hibiki had much more important things to do than spending time with them.

Kanade knew she had to bear it and tried to help her, although it had been nothing but a dispiriting experience.

"Kanade...there are some discrepancies between the prices," Ellen pointed out.

"Oh no," Kanade said from behind her, "We gotta recheck it. When did the prices get all disorganized like this...?"

"Kanade, where should I put these leftover cakes?" Ako asked, heaving several boxes of cupcakes onto the table.

"Please put them in the fridge," Kanade said hastily.

"Kanade," a dark-haired woman called out to her and she looked up, "It's okay, you and your friends can leave now."

"Mom, no, I can still help," Kanade said, waving her hands.

Misora smiled at her and said, "It's fine. Doesn't Hibiki need you to help out around her house?"

"I don't know what she wants..." Kanade wondered aloud, but her mother didn't seem to hear her.

"Thank you for everything, Minamino-san," Ako said, bowing her head, "Please excuse us."

"Hibiki won't just dismiss your efforts, Kanade," Ellen said, while Hummy nodded in her arms.

Kanade gave her a faint smile. She found it hard to dispel her disillusionment.

She waved goodbye to Ako and Ellen, but she didn't follow her friends outside.

Was it possible for her to dismiss all her thoughts and meet Hibiki with a straight face?

Was it dishonorable of her to hate the attention Hibiki gave to her piano practice?

'Yeah,' she thought, 'Why can't I just let it go?'

They were high schoolers now. People change, and it is natural for old friends to grow apart or become disloyal to each other.

Why couldn't she look on Hibiki as someone dispensable then?

Was it childish of her to wish that she could be Hibiki's closest friend forever?

'That Hibiki...' she thought as she briskly walked out of the shop, 'I knew she wouldn't come until the end. How stupid of me to wait... She shows a total disregard for my feelings anyway...'

Kanade turned and closed the shop door behind her.

'She's already had a lot in her mind right now,' she mused, still clutching the door handle.

'There's no place in it for me anymore...'

But why couldn't she let go of the door handle...?

She should leave...she should go...she knew very well it was useless to wait until the last second...

'Hibiki wouldn't care...' Kanade thought, trying her best not to cry, 'Hibiki wouldn't-'

"Kanade...?"

A tired-sounding, soft voice of a girl spoke through the peaceful afternoon air. Kanade's grip slid from the door handle as she wondered if her ears were deceiving her.

"...Uh, did I make it...?" Hibiki asked.

Kanade was still not looking at her. "You can dispense with the apologies if you want," she said quietly.

There was a pause. Birds chirped from the trees while the setting sun bathed them in beautiful crimson light.

"...I thought I could get here earlier," Hibiki said, "But I was wrong. I know I was being a jerk last night. Forgive me."

It was only a simple apology.

However, never had an apology made Kanade this happy in her entire life.

Kanade's eyes almost watered up and she didn't realize that Hibiki was already standing next to her. Hibiki was holding a striped gift box with a red ribbon neatly tied into a bow on it.

"What is that...?" Kanade asked.

"Huh? I thought you want this," Hibiki said in a tone of dissatisfaction, "Smile Bakery's special blueberry cheesecake."

Kanade couldn't believe what she saw. "Why did you buy this? ? It was just a joke!"

"What? !"

"I don't even like this cake!"

"Darn it, say it sooner!"

"It was obviously a joke!"

"You don't know how much I had to go through to buy this stupid cake!" Hibiki spoke with a deep sigh, "Honda-sensei suddenly has something urgent to do today, so I end up having a lot of free time. There was a train accident on my way back here from the bakery, and it took hours to get back! I haven't even had lunch!"

"You actually went through the effort to buy this..." Kanade said, looking up at her with wide green eyes.

"Well, you said that you- whatever, I'll just throw it away!" Hibiki said as her stomach growled loudly.

Kanade gazed at the box.

Hibiki actually bought the cake for her.

It was a joke, but Hibiki thought it was a request, and she really went out of town and bought it for her.

Hibiki wasn't ignoring her requests.

She really fulfilled them if she could.

Hibiki was still the kind, caring girl that Kanade knew.

The realization almost caused Kanade to dissolve into tears.

"Eh? Kanade, what's wrong...?"

"No, nothing, don't throw it away," Kanade said, taking the box from Hibiki's hand.

Hibiki looked at her in disbelief. "But the cake is..."

"You bought this so we can eat it together, right...? Because you don't know when you'll have free time again," Kanade said, taking a peek inside the box, "The size of this cake is too large even for your standards, but you haven't eaten any of it yet despite feeling so hungry."

Hibiki gaped at her, not realizing that her face was turning beet red.

"I didn't plan to do that!"

"Okay," Kanade said brightly, "Oh, that's right, wait here..."

She left the curious Hibiki at the door and hurriedly went back inside the shop. She ran to the kitchen and rummaged through the fridge to find the cakes that Ako stored inside there earlier. She was sure Hibiki would like some of them.

"What took you so long?" Hibiki asked when Kanade returned with a Lucky Spoon box in her arms.

"Sorry, I tried to choose the ones that you might like from all the leftovers," Kanade said with an apologetic smile, "I'm sorry I was not the one who made these, but I hope you..."

"Eh? That's no good," Hibiki interrupted.

Kanade stared at her in confusion.

"I want the cake that you made," Hibiki said.

The words sounded like strange music in Kanade's ears.

"...Uh, but these are the ones my parents made," Kanade explained, "I'm sure they're tastier..."

"No way," Hibiki said with an innocent smile, "For me, your cakes are always the tastiest...!"

The surprising remark unexpectedly turned Kanade's face so hot that she felt like she was going to let off some steam from her head.

'Wait, what, what happened? ?' Kanade thought in a panic, '...Hibiki said this kind of shameless things all the time! !'

That Hibiki...! It must be because it had been so long since she treated her this kindly!

"Oh, I know!" Hibiki said, completely oblivious, "Let's go to the grocery store and buy some stuff! You have to cook me a delicious meal when we get home!"

Kanade didn't move. She felt more confused and embarrassed than ever before.

"How is that, Kanade?" she said, extending her hand, "Let's have fun today."

Kanade looked at her in a daze.

Hibiki was here, right next to her, and they finally could spend some time together again after so long...

Kanade timidly stepped forward and took Hibiki's hand.

Hibiki smiled at her and said, "It's been awhile since we held hands, right...?"

It was right there that Kanade realized how much she really missed the warmth of her dearest friend.

She tightened her grip and replied, "Yeah..."

"Hehe, I miss it. You usually hold my hand when we fought as Precures..." Hibiki said.

Kanade noticed the uneasy tone in her voice. Did she still feel guilty for letting Kanade down...?

"...I'll cook for you, but you have to eat whatever I make," Kanade said, "You've been working so hard. You need more nutritious food."

Hibiki looked somewhat happy when she heard this.

"Kanade...you're the best."

"Sometimes I feel like I care for your well-being more than yourself," Kanade said, and Hibiki laughed nervously.

Maybe Kanade wasn't able to dissuade Hibiki from overworking yet.

Maybe there really was nothing much that she could do for her friend.

However, she was determined to make this night the best that Hibiki ever had.

* * *

A/N: Thank you everyone for reading this far! The update after this will be very slow because things are getting pretty hectic for me at the moment. Perhaps you can push this fic in my priority list with a bit of review. xD j/k

Thank you again and have a nice day!


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Hibiki and Kanade's shopping didn't go so well.

They met Ako and Ellen on their way to the store, and they were actually heading out to buy some bandages. Otokichi-san was fixing a dislodged tile on the roof after their visit to Lucky Spoon when he accidentally fell and broke his finger. Hibiki, being Hibiki, offered to give them a hand, and it went down from there.

The stores that were within walking distance of their houses all ran out of bandages, so they ended up going back to Lucky Spoon and asked Kanade's family to lend them some. When they arrived at Ako's house, the door got stuck and couldn't budge, causing some neighbors to look at them suspiciously from their windows. On their way back to Hibiki's house, Hibiki realized that she had dropped her key, forcing them to go all the way back to Ako's house.

By the time they arrived back into the warmth of their own home, Kanade wanted nothing more than to have a hot bath in the tub and just slept inside it.

"That clerk didn't even try to hide her dislike of us, although we didn't do anything wrong," Hibiki complained, throwing herself on the couch, "I know she was tired, so I didn't mind that she was being disobliging, but she didn't have to shout so rudely at you like that!"

Kanade realized she was smiling a bit more widely than she should when she heard Hibiki's remark, so she quickly said, "She wasn't exactly shouting, but yeah, she was being pretty rude..."

"Oh, c'mon, she should be fired," Hibiki grumbled, putting her arms over her eyes, "I'm so tired."

"...Um...Hibiki, I don't think we can have that dinner tonight..." Kanade said carefully.

"I've thought so," she said, turning over so her back was facing Kanade.

Kanade didn't need to ask. She already knew that Hibiki was disappointed.

She took a deep breath. "...Say, Hibiki. Why don't you take a nice, long bath before sleep?"

"What for?" she said, her voice muffled by the pillow she was hugging, "I'd rather sleep here...I don't even have any energy left to walk to my bed."

"You're exaggerating..." Kanade said, starting to get impatient, "Come on, Hibiki, I'll prepare a hot bath for you."

"Stop it, Kanade, you're not my wife."

Kanade felt more like she was talking to a disobedient little kid.

"Then do something about your laziness. Do you think your future husband will prepare your bath, cook your dinner, and wash your clothes?"

"Okay, you should be my wife. Then I don't need to worry about those things anymore."

"...Hibiki, don't just doze off! Hey!" Kanade said, shaking Hibiki's shoulder, "Hibiki! Wake up!"

Hibiki only replied her with incomprehensible groans.

"Honestly..." Kanade said, kneeling beside the couch, "I pity the guy who will marry you someday."

But maybe there are guys who like this type of girl?

Kanade knew there were a few guys out there who were willing to help around the house and generally liked to spoil their spouses.

Kanade heard some of her friends talking about them... but who was she to talk?

She had been spoiling Hibiki too, hadn't she?

She and those guys aren't dissimilar...

Wait, was she just seriously comparing herself to some guys whom she thought would suit Hibiki?

'No way,' she told herself, unexpectedly feeling a bit flustered, 'I just feel she's being unfair... She hardly ever behaves like a proper, feminine girl and yet she always looks so pret-'

Okay, she was just making it worse.

Trying to distract herself, she thought of whether she should take a bath first or force Hibiki to move into her room.

However, her eyes kept finding their way back to Hibiki.

Her silky, untidy brown hair went down to her waist, some of the strands sticking out in a strange way because of how she thoughtlessly threw herself to the couch just now. Her face was so smooth and soft despite never knowing the difference between a cleanser and a moisturizer.

And for Kanade, Hibiki always looked attractive no matter what she was doing.

When she was playing soccer.

When she was studying in class.

When she was playing the piano.

When she was fighting as Cure Melody.

Even now when she was being messier than ever.

Hibiki never cared or realized it, though.

It was so unfair.

"If one of us were a guy, I wouldn't have wasted all my life looking for someone like I am doing now..." Kanade said quietly, "It'll be much easier."

She stared at the wall for a few seconds before deciding that she needed the bath more.

As she stood up and walked out of the room, she didn't realize that Hibiki's ears were already as red as a cherry.

* * *

The vapor from the hot water blurred her reflection on the mirror.

Kanade didn't mind, since she wasn't exactly the type who liked to look at her own naked body anyways.

She removed her underwear and checked the water temperature with the tip of her finger.

She regretted her decision half a second later.

She always had a hard time adjusting the water temperature in Hibiki's house.

When she was busy putting her finger in her mouth in a desperate attempt to cool it down, she heard a knock on the door.

"Kanade, you in there...?"

"No, I'm a burglar who happens to take a hot bath in your house," Kanade said in a sarcastic tone, "You're finally awake."

There was a long silence, which slightly confused Kanade.

"Hey, Hibiki, are you still there?" Kanade asked, turning the tap on to fill the tub with more water, "Do you want to take a bath too?"

"No."

Kanade frowned. That was one quick answer.

"So what do you come here for? Just to stand around there while I take a bath?"

"Um, well, uh... are you naked?"

"No, I take a bath fully clothed," Kanade replied curtly, "We take baths all the time when we were kids! Have you ever seen me take a bath with my clothes on?"

"That's not what I... oh fine, I'll just use the other bathroom."

Kanade couldn't stand it anymore.

"What's wrong with you, Hibiki...?" she asked loudly, as the sound of running water echoed in the room, "I don't understand you. I used to think I was the one who could understand you the most... In fact I still thought that, until a few minutes ago. I don't want to admit it... but I really don't know you anymore. Please... tell me what's in your head. I don't know what I should do anymore..."

She didn't really understand herself why she suddenly said all those things.

She only knew she was curious, angry, and exhausted to the point of hopelessness.

Hibiki's small voice which Kanade heard through the bathroom door was soft and confused. "What the...Kanade, I'm still me."

'I know...' she thought, 'I already know that, but...'

But curiosity got the better of her.

"But then why don't you treat me like you used to?" she asked, "You've changed. You've been evading me. You can't even bear staying in the same room with me. ...Do you-"

"It's not because I hate you," Hibiki said quickly, "...Please understand. I...just a little more..."

"What...?"

"I'm sorry, let's take a bath together," she continued, "I'm sorry for everything I've done."

Kanade had mixed feelings about her sudden apology. On one hand, she was happy, but on the other hand, she still felt like something was wrong.

However, before she could make up her mind, Hibiki had opened the door and glanced at her with a surprised expression.

"Um, what's with all the steam?" Hibiki said, starting to squint.

"Eh? Oh, damn!" Kanade exclaimed. She was too preoccupied with her conversation with Hibiki to notice that the tub was already filled to the brim with hot water. She hurriedly went to the tap to turn it off, but she just took one step on the puddle on the floor and she already felt a horrible burning sensation from her foot that almost caused her to slip and fall.

"Hey, don't force yourself," Hibiki said, holding Kanade's shoulders so she could stand properly again, "Let me do it for you."

Kanade blushed furiously, embarrassed at how she just looked stupid in front of her friend.

Hibiki didn't seem to mind, she carefully tiptoed to the tub and turned the tap off.

"You cook a lot, but I guess I still have a higher heat tolerance than you, huh?" Hibiki said with a smirk.

"Well, excuse me, you're wearing slippers, and I'm not wearing anything right now!"

"I think the room's pretty warm, but I'm gonna cool the water down, so in the meantime, you can use my towel," Hibiki said, handing her a white fluffy towel.

Kanade stared at her, but accepted the towel nonetheless. Hibiki quickly drained the tub until it only contained half of the previous amount of water, then she turned the tap on again. All the time Kanade wished her blush would just go away. She often forgot that Hibiki was more reliable than she looked, and she found it embarrassing when she suddenly had to depend on Hibiki like this, although she would absolutely never tell anyone about it.

Hibiki looked even better than she usually was when she was being serious and dependable, too.

Especially that one time when she saved Kanade from Howling.

She looked really-

"Oy, Kanade?" Hibiki asked, waving her hand in front of Kanade's face, "The tub's ready."

"Huh? Oh!"

"Gee, what were you daydreaming about? A new crush?" Hibiki asked with a naughty smile.

"T-that's none of your business!"

Darn it, why did she embarrass herself so much today...?

"Oh, of course it is," Hibiki said as Kanade hastily went inside the tub, "I usually don't care about any new guy you like, but I've never seen you daydreaming quietly while blushing before. You're usually really noisy."

"W-what do you know? Just get into the bath already."

"Okay, okay," Hibiki said as she casually started to undress, "So who's this guy?"

"I _wasn't _daydreaming about anyone."

"Okay, I won't push you," she said lightly.

Kanade felt that her tone of voice was unnaturally bright.

Did she say it that way because she didn't want Kanade to dig into her secrets, either...?

"Kanade!"

"What? Wait!"

Before she knew it, Hibiki had excitedly jumped into the tub, causing Kanade's face to be hit by a nice, big splash of water.

"Ahaha, look at your face!" Hibiki laughed heartily.

"...Are you a grade schooler? ?" Kanade said, angrily wiping her eyes.

"Hey, calm down, can I wash your hair?" she asked cheerfully, touching Kanade's head.

"There's no need to!" she said, her face flushing, "And if you won't tell me what your problem is... I'm so going to get out of here!"

Hibiki's hand froze when their eyes met.

She hesitantly sat down opposite from Kanade and hugged her knees.

"But... I don't want you to know."

Kanade knew it was coming, but the pain that came after she heard those words was still nearly unbearable.

Hibiki is an honest girl. She's so bad at lying that it was all she could say to Kanade.

"Hibiki, I'm your best friend," Kanade said, reaching to Hibiki's hands, "Whatever it is, I won't tease you or hate you for it."

Hibiki stared at her for the longest time. Kanade tried to keep up her confident expression, and she watched how Hibiki's resolve started to waver. This was what they needed, a perfect time just for the two of them, a time when Hibiki couldn't escape...

"I..." she began, taking a deep breath, "I...think you are attractive."

Kanade blinked.

"Oh," she blurted out, "...Is that it?"

"No, not just you," Hibiki said, looking like she just spit out the whole lifetime's worth of secrets.

"Well, uh, why is your face like that...?" Kanade said, "I don't think it's a problem, I think you're attractive, too."

Kanade felt more confused than ever.

Why was this such a big deal for Hibiki?

Why had she been keeping this a secret for so long?

It's okay for a girl to admire another girl, isn't it...?

There's nothing wrong with that.

Kanade couldn't understand at all.

She was astonished to find a faint hint of sadness in Hibiki's eyes when she muttered nonchalantly, "...It's different."

She suddenly stood up and got out of the bathtub, leaving Kanade alone and perplexed.

'...Then how?' Kanade thought as Hibiki dried herself and went out of the bathroom without looking back.

'How is it different?'

* * *

When Kanade had finished her bath, which took much longer than usual because she kept contemplating about what just happened inside, she heard that someone just turned on the television in the living room.

'Why didn't she...go to sleep?'

Hibiki had a habit to head straight into her room when she felt depressed at home.

Was Hibiki still willing to talk to her?

If she talked to her now, would she ruin it again?

'You won't know unless you try...' Kanade told herself, and with that thought she braced herself and entered the living room.

Hibiki noticed her as soon as she came. She was sitting on the sofa while holding her cell phone, and this caught Kanade's eye.

"...Did you just call someone?"

"No, uh, it's Ellen and Hummy," she said, "They seem to be worried about us, kept yelling at me to let them stay together with us."

"You won't let them...?" Kanade said with a sigh.

"Well, I suppose I'm fine with it," Hibiki said, "If...they live here, you won't be lonely, right?"

Kanade looked at her as Hibiki scratched her head awkwardly.

Did that mean she was worried that Kanade would get lonely because she was away most of the time...?

"...You're so silly," Kanade said, sitting next to her with a loud thump.

"Eh, what?" Hibiki said, surprised because Kanade was suddenly so close to her.

"Nothing, I'm sorry... for forcing you like that just now. I guess I'm just tired," Kanade said, putting her head on Hibiki's shoulder, "...I still don't understand... but I won't ask like that again, I promise."

Kanade waited, wondering if Hibiki would be angry at her or not, but she only smiled and said, "Did you try the shampoo in the green bottle...?"

Kanade looked at her questioningly. "I can tell from the smell," Hibiki said, leaning against her and putting her face really close to Kanade's hair.

"Hey, it tickles," she giggled, "Did you buy it for me?"

"Not really, but somehow I just know you'll try it out," Hibiki explained, "I bought it for Hummy. The clerk said it has some kind of smell that cats like, but nah, it's not cat shampoo."

"Eh? I thought a cat has to use cat shampoo," Kanade said, but Hibiki shrugged and replied, "I guess I'll buy her real cat shampoo later then."

"Do you miss Hummy?" Kanade asked.

Hibiki grinned sheepishly and said, "It's nice having her around."

"Let's invite everyone then," Kanade said to her, "Hummy and everyone."

Hibiki turned and fixed her gaze on the TV. "But I..."

"We'll wait for you to come home..." Kanade assured her with a warm smile, "Then we can play around a bit, everyone can't wait to spend time with you again, Hibiki."

Hibiki looked amazed.

"Kanade... thank-!"

Then it happened.

She turned to Kanade without realizing that Kanade's face wasn't on her shoulder anymore.

Their faces were so close that their foreheads almost touched, and they never looked at each other in this distance before. They could practically see their reflections in each others' eyes, clearer than they could ever be. Kanade could feel sweat running down the back of her neck.

'Wait...what...?'

She was so immersed in the sight that she felt like she was slowly disconnected from her surroundings.

'Why did Hibiki suddenly stop talking...?'

Hibiki's eyes were wide, bewildered, but Kanade couldn't exactly know what was running in her mind now.

'If... I don't say anything...'

She vaguely felt Hibiki's fingers touching her arm.

'...What would happen...?'

That thought pierced her mind like a sharp sword, and she felt like all her neurons suddenly reconnected at once in a loud, uncomfortable crack in her mind.

"Hibi..." she gasped out, "...Aren't we too close...?"

Those words seemed to bring Hibiki back to her senses.

"Ah... sorry," she moved back, but still not at a comfortable distance for Kanade.

Kanade felt her mind was spinning fast like a roller coaster.

She had to find a way to get out of the awkward situation.

'Say something...you gotta say something, quick!'

"Ah, b-by the way, Hibiki," she said as soon as something came up in her mind, "W-will you perform in the town concert next month...?"

"Concert?" Hibiki asked, looking even more surprised because Kanade brought up an unexpected topic.

"Yeah, Ouji-sempai really wants to see you play, so perhaps, we can perform together again, like we always do?" Kanade asked in a pleading voice, "Ouji-sempai is really looking forward to it. I don't want to make him sad, so, uh..."

For a while, Hibiki's expression was blank and unreadable.

'What the hell, Kanade? ?' she scolded herself, 'Why did you have to ask about the concert now of all times? ? She's definitely gonna refuse!'

"Sure."

"Ah, I know you will refuse! I'm so sorry!" Kanade said, bowing her head.

"Um, no, I said it's fine."

Kanade looked up. "Really?"

"Yes," she said with a wide smile, "You should've told me sooner, why keep it a secret?"

"Ah, I wasn't keeping it a secret, I thought you're too busy to..."

"It's okay," Hibiki said, "I don't want to talk about secrets anymore."

She directly headed back into her father's room without saying anything else. Not even a "good night" or a "have a nice dream".

Kanade could only stay silent as her eyes followed Hibiki's back.

Beneath that slightly cold atmosphere that she left behind, Kanade got the impression that Hibiki was still hiding something.

* * *

A/N: Thanks for reading so far and really sorry for taking so long to update. R&R!


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The miraculous hanging garden of the Major Land palace is watered by hundreds of streams, flowing endlessly in their finely shaped canals and forming crystal clear waterfalls among the evergreen bushes and colorful mushrooms whose heights are as tall as a human's.

It is Queen Aphrodite's most favorite place, everything inside it seems to radiate a warm and soothing atmosphere that calms her mind. There were so many instances that she absolutely had to stay calm, and that was why she spent so much time in the garden. When her husband left her with his three assistants without saying a thing, and when her daughter ran away to the human world on her own shortly after, she knew that if she broke down and lost control of herself, the Major Land would have no ruler left.

She handled the crisis with patience, preparing herself in case anything worse happened to her nation, by teaching a few Fairies of Song about the legendary Precure warriors. One of her biggest mistake was teaching a fairy named Siren, but in the end, the Precures could stop Noise from taking over the land and everything went back to normal.

Aphrodite still visited the garden daily, because it was still the only place where she could truly feel calm and relaxed.

However, that day wasn't like any other day.

When she saw one of her trusted advisors came flying into the garden in such a hurry that most of his green feathers were ruffled up, she knew that something ominous had happened.

"Aphrodite-sama...! !" he screamed as he flew by.

"Please calm down and tell me what's wrong," Aphrodite responded.

"I've told you!" he said, flapping his wings furiously, "I've told you not to trust those...those disreputable people!"

Aphrodite raised her eyebrows in distaste. "Hush, you shouldn't speak like that about them. Where are your manners?"

"I'm sorry, no disrespect intended, Your Highness," he said as he perched on Aphrodite's shoulder and lowered his beak in shame.

"So tell me what happened."

"There are reports from some people who live near the borders..." he began, "That the Evil Forest has returned."

"What?" she said sharply, "And how is that possible? Noise's malicious intent used to control that forest, and he has been defeated."

"I don't know, but a lot of people have seen it, even those who live some distance away," he replied in a worried tone, "Should we call the Precures? Noise is with them, what if he..."

"...Is this really Noise's doing?" Aphrodite said thoughtfully, "If it was, he should've prepared something to put some distance between himself and this event, because he's not foolish enough to come back to a place that is so obviously connected to him... but so far we have seen none."

"We have to be careful, Aphrodite-sama. What if that doggone Noise is planning something sinister from a distance...?"

Aphrodite was lost in thought. "How does this Evil Forest look like...?"

"It'll take a lot of doing to confirm them all... but from what we have gathered so far...it looks quite distinct from the Forest that we used to see back then..." he explained, "It has this strange entrance...but because it's located at where the old Forest was, people assume it's the same Forest...I'm really worried."

"Don't distress yourself. We need to draw a distinction first..." the queen decided, "I will tell my husband about this. It might take some doing, but please send some men to investigate this matter."

"Yes, Your Highness!" he saluted and flew out of the window.

Aphrodite looked around the garden and let out a deep sigh.

The Evil Forest...the Precures were the only ones who could conquer it before.

She wished she didn't need to ask for their help again for the troubles of Major Land.

However, if this turned out to be a danger with the risk of destruction as large as Noise's scale, she would have no choice but to call them again.

* * *

Ever since she could remember, Kanade had always liked watching Hibiki when she was putting her mind to something.

After Hibiki distanced herself from music, she poured most of her attention to sports.

Kanade would watch her practise on her own in the field near their school, which now had fallen into disuse. Her interests were diverse, so she would try many sports clubs in school and surprisingly excelled in a lot of them.

Kanade was the exact opposite, she would easily suffer from dizzy spells every time she innocently tried to imitate her best friend, refusing to accept that she could not catch up to Hibiki's stamina and abilities. When they were eight years old, Kanade began to understand that people excel in different kinds of things, so she learned to bake simple cakes with the help of her family and received praises from her parents and peers.

Their paths started to diverge at that time.

Hibiki grew up to be a tomboy, kept her hair short and shoulder-length, and avoided girly things like a plague. Kanade was known at school as one of the most feminine and beautiful girls around. They had a contrasting set of friends, but Kanade and Hibiki still enjoyed each other's company, especially because Hibiki loved nothing more than to eat the cakes that Kanade baked for her.

There were still a number of things that they could not agree on, though.

"What do you think of Kenji-kun...?" Kanade asked, "He's handsome, and popular...He's like the prince from this manga I read!"

Hibiki was staring into the distance. "I don't know," she answered, "This is boring, let's talk about something else."

The gleam in Kanade's eyes vanished. "But I thought you talk a lot with Kenji-kun..."

Hibiki pouted. "He's annoying. I hate him," she said, "Why do you like boys, anyway? Everyone thinks they're icky..."

"Kenji-kun isn't!" Kanade insisted, "He's kind and gentle... "

"Well, I'm better at sports than he is!" Hibiki said pompously, "And I always will be!"

"No, you won't," Kanade argued, "You're a girl, so you won't be as good as Kenji-kun. Kenji-kun will be better than you!"

It took a second for Kanade to realize the doleful look in Hibiki's eyes.

"Why do you always talk about boys, Kana-chan...?"

Kanade was taken aback. "Why...um, because... Mommy told me I will marry a boy I like one day..." she replied, "She said it'll be like the bedtime stories she told me. One day a prince will come and we will have a happy ending like in the stories. I really want it to happen. I will be so happy."

Hibiki stared at her strangely. "...I'm better than Kenji-kun," Hibiki said, "I can do better than the boys, and I will do better than a prince! I'll try my hardest if I have to!"

Kanade couldn't really comprehend what Hibiki was trying to say.

"...I always try to be better than boys in sports," she continued, "Because I want you to stop talking about them!"

Her tone was pleading and sad. It was like she was trying to be something she wasn't, and somehow, Kanade knew that something was wrong.

"Hibi-chan..." Kanade said, "But you...you can't be a prince. You're not a boy."

"But I'm better than a boy!" she blurted out angrily.

Kanade shook her head. "But you still can't."

Hibiki looked at her feet.

"No matter...no matter how hard I try...?" she asked, "Because I'm a girl?"

"Yes."

Kanade had to say it. For her, it was the truth. She didn't know why Hibiki was trying so hard to make her stop mentioning the boys, but she felt that Hibiki had to know what she thought.

Hibiki looked like she was about to cry.

"...I...I will show you then," she said, "A girl is better than a boy. Any girl is. Girls don't have to be a prince, they are already better than a prince!"

She pointed at Kanade and cried, "I'm betting my pride as a girl on this! !"

Kanade could only stare at her in bewilderment as she stormed away noisily, scaring some other younger kids away.

Ever since that day, Kanade noticed that for some reason, Hibiki gradually tried to change some of her old habits.

She began to grow her hair, although her friends suggested her to keep it short since she likes sports, and long hair would surely get in the way. She quit all her clubs, and proceeded to try every sports club in school, refusing to quit until she had bested every club member. She also embraced more feminine attire, although she still refused to wear a skirt without any leggings.

By the time they finished grade school, Hibiki hardly complained anymore when Kanade talked about a guy, but she was never interested in the topic, either.

To this day, Kanade never asked what Hibiki really meant with all her "girls and boys" talk.

She could only assume it was that jealousy thing people often talked about.

Hibiki was afraid that a guy would take her best friend away from her, but now she had grown out of it.

That was gotta be it, right...?

Because Kanade couldn't come up with anything else.

* * *

"Hibiki, she just won't stop, will she?"

Ellen's impatient voice came from the receiver into Kanade's ear, but she was barely listening.

"She ever told me that story once," Ellen continued, "You know, the one where she suffered a bad injury during a match and uncaringly went the full distance."

Kanade remembered that. She was there, watching Hibiki dragging her foot while yelling at the captain about how there were no substitutes left, while some of the teammates stared at her in distrust. Despite everything that happened, it was not all doom and gloom for Hibiki.

Kanade remembered her own anger when she watched Hibiki dive for the ball, ignoring her injuries.

"But in the end it was thanks to divine intervention that they won, wasn't it?" Ellen laughed, "The team was in a really bad state after all. Everybody said they didn't have a dog's chance of winning."

Yes, it really was divine intervention. Hibiki managed to replace the goalie for the last fifteen minutes, and the match unexpectedly ended in a penalty shootout.

Perhaps it was when she learned that dogged determination alone could give you a victory that you never imagined.

"Well, she's wrong. There's a limit to everything," Ellen remarked.

"Oh, that's a surprise," Kanade said.

"Hey, don't get me wrong. I have a dream, too. Just not as big as Hibiki's."

Kanade laughed. "Say, when will you come here, Ellen?"

"As soon as you tell us to," Ellen replied, "We can bring cleaning supplies, if you like."

"Are you kidding? All I've been doing here is cleaning!" Kanade said with a giggle, "I've even found Hibiki's baby pictures in the disused basement."

Ellen had a feeling that when she came there, she would be greeted by an atmosphere of weird and happy domesticity.

"Bring Souta with you, I'm sure he will drag Ako along," Kanade said.

"Roger that. Show us the baby photos later!"

"So we can all blackmail Hibiki when she comes home at night?"

"Awesome. We don't need Souta then. Ako will come to your doorstep with flowers."

* * *

Ako was more than willing to come as soon as she knew that she could have "the golden chance to invade Hibiki's personal space and humiliate her", although all she ended up doing was playing a racing video game with Souta.

"Ako, you're too fast!" Souta complained, as Ako's car drove past at a dizzying speed.

"Ako looks really happy," Ellen remarked, "I wonder if Hibiki had a sense of impending doom when she went out this morning..."

"Not at all, and don't blame me, I've told her she would do well to stay home today," Kanade shrugged.

Ellen gave her a suspicious look. "I bet you said something else to her."

"Well, I only added that she should do the ironing if she did stay."

"I've told you, you can't just go straight through that domed building!"

"You need a do-or-die attitude to win a race, Souta!"

"Hey, hey, don't fight!" Kanade said.

After several more incidents, Kanade ushered them to shut up and play something else or one of them would "end up with an appointment at the doctor's with a cracked wrist". Ako stated that she didn't care, but then Kanade added that she would dress her up and Ako couldn't say anything else to object.

"Honestly, I can only deal with those two in small doses," Kanade sighed to Ellen.

"Geez, no need to be so domineering," Ako grumbled, "Well then, when will you give me the dope on our host Houjou? I'm still waiting."

Kanade wondered if the entire purpose of Ako's visit was to assemble a dossier to blackmail Hibiki.

"When does Hibiki-nee-chan usually come home?" Souta asked.

"It's usually a bit random, but for some reason on Thursdays she always comes home at 11 on the dot," Kanade replied.

"Why don't we prepare a surprise for her?" Ellen asked, "With a cake or something?"

"W-we don't need to!" Kanade blurted out.

Everyone looked at her, including Hummy, who was busy eating since she couldn't speak in front of Souta. Kanade's face flushed.

"Don't tell me..." Ako sneered.

"Shut up, Ako," Kanade said as she strode away, "And go watch TV or something, just don't go to the kitchen!"

They watched her until she was gone to another room.

"What was that about?" Souta asked.

"As usual, she's not really honest about it, huh?" Ako said, trying to suppress her laughter, "That was a beautiful red face."

"Let's just leave her be?" Ellen said, "That 'cleaning' thing she told me earlier was probably this."

"What was she doing?" Souta asked, still confused.

A small smile tugged at Ellen's face. Probably something to make a certain someone happy.

* * *

"Welcome home, Hibiki. Shaving your hair really didn't do anything for you, did it?"

"...What the hell, Ako. I haven't even taken off my shoes. And why are you holding my album?"

"I found it in your room. I also found your porn stash."

"You liar! ! I don't have any!"

"Why are you guys arguing at the door?" Souta asked and Ako shrugged.

"Give me a break, Ako, I had a bad day..." Hibiki muttered.

"I'm sure it wouldn't be so bad when you see what Kanade's made for you," Ako smirked.

"Yeah, yeah, just go the dining room!" Souta added excitedly.

"Can I skip...? I'm really..."

Before she could say anything else, Souta and Ako had pushed her to the dining room.

Dragging her feet and grumbling, she opened the door and was greeted with the sight of a literal feast in the eyes.

There were over half a dozen scrumptious dishes on the table, letting out a mixture of delectable, pleasant aroma that filled the air. Lightly fried salmon was slathered with sweet miso sauce, next to a plate of hot tempura with lemon seasoning. There were crispy, charred Brussels sprouts served with mint and basil, spicy curry, deep-fried buns, pudding, and a tower of cupcakes. Being raised by parents who had less cooking skill than Hibiki herself, she had never seen that much food on her dining table her entire life.

Hibiki was so lost in her own world that Ako had to elbow her twice to make her speak again.

"Don't you still have someone to thank?" she asked in an annoyed tone.

Her mouth barely moved when she said, "...Where's Kanade?"

Souta and Ako gave her a wide smile.

"Just sit there and we'll call her for you."

However, right at that second Kanade came into the dining room in a rush, her hair tied up in a single ponytail and her Lucky Spoon apron stained with at least three different kinds of sauce. She was holding a plate of sushi and several pairs of chopsticks, which she dropped when she noticed that Hibiki was there.

"Oh my go—it's 11 already? ?" she exclaimed, frantically looking at the clock on the wall, "I stilll haven't dotted the rest of the cakes with cream...And the curry...dammit I messed up the curry! I thought I could cook some more curry and throw away that one after I finish the cakes...the curry's too spicy for your taste and I can't believe I messed it up! I've been cooking curry for you since forever! I must've been drunk when I...!"

"Hey, Kanade," Hibiki interrupted.

"I..." she stopped, feeling more flustered than ever, "I haven't even cleaned myself and I look this terrible in front of you! Why do you have to come home now? ? Stupid! Stupid Hibiki!"

"Eh? !"

"Now that's denial if I know one," Ako commented.

"No, stop freaking out, you still look perfectly okay," Hibiki said, totally out of ideas, "And why do you have to doll yourself up for me? Really, there's no need..."

When Kanade realized what Hibiki had said, her face turned red so quickly that Ako thought she was overheating.

"Stupid! !"

Kanade slammed the sushi plate on the table and stormed back to the kitchen without bothering to pick up the fallen chopsticks.

"Oops," Ako said, while Hibiki wondered if she had just said the wrong thing.

* * *

After being comforted by a very confused Ellen in the kitchen, Kanade agreed to take a bath as the rest of the girls and Souta sat around the dining table to enjoy the feast.

"Shouldn't we wait for Kanade?" Hibiki asked hesitantly.

"She said it's okay to start without her," Ellen said while breaking a pair of chopsticks, "Just enjoy it, Hibiki, Kanade gave it her all for tonight."

"Great! I'm starving!" Souta piped out.

"Where're your manners, Souta?" Ako said with a frown.

"Did Kanade really make all these herself?" Hibiki asked in awe.

"Well, she said her mom helped with some of the cakes," Ellen replied, putting some rice into Hibiki's bowl, "She did go to Lucky Spoon just now."

"Still...I can't believe it..." Hibiki spoke in a mutter.

"She really did her best for you, Hibiki," Ellen said with a small laugh, "I think she just wants to see you happy."

"And all I ever did was just make her angry," Hibiki sighed.

"That's not really true. If only you watched her as she cooked just now," Ellen said, "She really thought about the flavor that you like best. Watching her reminded me of this TV series about a girl who always cooks for the boy she loves. It's like she's in love with you or something."

Ellen heard a clutter.

She turned and saw that Hibiki had just put her chopsticks on her plate.

"Um..." Ellen said, wondering if Hibiki had lost her appetite because of her exhaustion. She looked at Ako, but Ako was too busy arguing with Souta and didn't notice Hibiki and Ellen's conversation at all.

"Ellen," Hibiki said with a blank expression, "How does falling in love feel like?"

"What...?"

Ellen didn't expect that question at all.

What did that mean? How was she supposed to answer?

"What is it with falling in love?"

Ellen looked up in surprise. Kanade was standing right behind Hibiki, wiping her face with her towel. Hibiki looked even more surprised than Ellen, almost knocking her plate off the table in her hurry to act normal.

However, it was useless since Kanade had heard her.

"Why did you ask such a thing, Hibiki? ?" Kanade asked in a visibly excited voice, "Is there someone you like? ?"

"C-can't we just eat?" Hibiki said, but Kanade had held onto her shoulder from behind.

"But you finally have someone you like! This calls for celebration!"

"Just let me eat!"

"Who is it, Hibiki? Is it someone from the sports club? Or our classmate? Or is it a sempai? Who's the lucky guy? ?"

"Nobody, that's who."

"Aw, really?" Kanade said in a disappointed tone, "So there isn't any guys that you like?"

"No, so just lemme go already," Hibiki demanded.

"That's such a shame...I always wonder what kind of guy that you like," Kanade said, "I'm going to dry my hair, sorry to interrupt your meal, everyone!"

After Kanade left, Ellen felt that an unusual, constrained atmosphere still lingered in the room. She found that Hibiki was still staring at her plate, hardly touching the meal at all.

"Hibi..." Ellen called out to her, but she stopped halfway.

She had seen that look before.

She had seen it countless times in TV dramas.

She didn't know how it felt, but she could tell what that was.

It wasn't love.

It was heartbreak.


End file.
